The Fly is an opera in two acts by Canadian composer Howard Shore, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang. It was commissioned by the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, where it premiered on 2 July 2008, and by Edgar Baitzel, then director of the Los Angeles Opera, where the opera was first performed on 7 September 2008. The work was broadcast by Radio France's station France Musique on 2 August 2008.
The opera is loosely based on David Cronenberg's 1986 film The Fly, which was based on the short story of the same name by George Langelaan. Shore also wrote the musically unrelated score of that film.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 2 July 2008 Conductor: Plácido Domingo |
|---|---|---|
| Seth Brundle (The Fly), scientist | bass-baritone | Daniel Okulitch |
| Veronica Quaife, journalist | mezzo-soprano | Ruxandra Donose |
| Stathis Borans, editor | tenor | David Curry in Paris Gary Lehman in Los Angeles |
| Officer/Medical Analyst/Cheevers | mezzo-soprano | Beth Clayton |
| Marky | tenor | Jay Hunter Morris |
| Scientist #1 | mezzo-soprano | Sophie van de Woestyne in Paris Silvia Vasquez in Los Angeles |
| Scientist #2 | baritone | Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin in Paris Nicholas Hartley in Los Angeles |
| Scientist #3 | mezzo-soprano | Louise Callinan in Paris Anna Jablonski in Los Angeles |
| Scientist #4 | baritone | Frederic Goncalves in Paris Matthew Moore in Los Angeles |
| Scientist #5 | baritone | Luc Lalonde in Paris Andrew Wilkowske in Los Angeles |
| Director | David Cronenberg | |
| Set designer | Dante Ferretti | |
| Costume designer | Denise Cronenberg | |
| Lighting designer | A.J. Weissbard | |
| Associate conductor/Chorus master | Grant Gershon | |
| Makeup and creature design | Stephan L. Dupuis | |
| Makeup, creature and puppet fabrication | Mark A. Rappaport's Creature Effects, Inc. | |
The opera runs approximately two hours.
References
- Héro, Florian (30 June 2008). "Histoire d'une oeuvre: Howard Shore: The Fly" (in French). Radio France. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
- Tommasini, Anthony (8 September 2008). "The Song of the Brundlefly". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- "Howard Shore: The Fly – The Opera: The Creative Team". Los Angeles Opera. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- "Howard Shore: The Fly – The Opera: The Cast". Los Angeles Opera. 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- Riding, Alan (5 July 2008). "Trying to Teach 'The Fly' to Soar Operatically". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
- "LA Opera – The Fly (playbill)". Los Angeles Opera. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
External links
- "Howard Shore: The Fly The Opera (homepage)". Los Angeles Opera. 2008. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- "Théâtre du Châtelet: The Fly" (in French). Théâtre du Châtelet. 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- Davies, Lizzy (3 July 2008). "The Fly lands on Paris stage as a Cronenberg opera". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2008. (a review)
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